It’s almost time for the much anticipated Black Friday Usenet deals. So as the providers get ready for the promotions a few are tipping their hat. Letting fans in on what’s to come. At least an idea of what’s to come from UseNetNow, BlockNews and Frugal Usenet. It looks like they’ll be offering special pricing on a limited number of accounts for Black Friday. In addition to some good holiday specials through the end of the year.

The Black Friday deals probably won’t last past the morning hours so if you want in on the promotions you need to plan on visiting their special page right at midnight. When UseNetNow will be offering 400 unlimited accounts for $8.99 a month. Frugal Usenet will offer 400 unlimited accounts for $3.99 a month. With BlockNews 200 GB blocks and some additional holiday deals running through the end of the year.

UseNetNow Black Friday / Holiday Special

UseNetNow will be offering 400 unlimited Usenet accounts for $8.99 a month to celebrate Black Friday. The price won’t be made available until the Black Friday special goes live at midnight. So you should definitely check it out then. After the BF special ends, UseNetNow will be offering 6 months of unlimited Usenet access for $48. Again the price won’t be available until after the Black Friday sale is over.

BlockNews Black Friday / Holiday Special

The BlockNews deal launches at midnight like UseNetNow’s Black Friday special but it doesn’t appear to be limited to number of accounts. Instead it looks like BlockNews will be offering 200 GB non-expiring blocks for $13.99 through the end of the year. Again this price is not available until the offer goes live.

Frugal Usenet Black Friday / Holiday Special

Frugal Usenet is offering 400 unlimited accounts for $3.99 a month to celebrate Black Friday. After that they’ll have annual subscriptions available for $40 through the end of the year. Again the price is not available until the offers go live on Friday.

We’ll update the post once the deals launch. In the meantime stay tuned for all this year’s Black Friday / Cyber Monday promotions. We’ll be adding several more blog posts as the day progresses and deals go live.

BlockNews is currently offering new and existing members a special discount on 100 GB Usenet blocks. Instead of the normal price of $14.69 you can snag the 100 GB block for just $8.99. The discount is limited to the first 1,150 accounts purchased as Blocknews is celebrating 1,150 days of binary retention. Those interested in the deal will want to sign up via their special page. Members can look inside the account center.

At $8.99 it’s hard to beat the BlockNews 100 GB deal. As it works out to just under 9 cents a gig. The monthly Terabyte Tuesday special from NewsgroupDirect is the only block promotion we’ve seen for less. As they offer 1 TB blocks for $50. Which works out to just 5 cents a gig. The BlockNews special is on a smaller block though so you don’t have to tie up $50. Enjoy 1,150 days of binaries, free SSL and 50 connections.

For those new to block Usenet access always make sure you look to see if the provider sets an expiration date on the block. In the case of BlockNews they don’t. All Blocknews accounts are non-expiring. Meaning you can keep the unused gigs as long as you’d like. Most block providers offer non-expiring accounts now but still look closely. As some get confused between metered monthly accounts and non-expiring blocks.

If you enjoy Blocknews and would like an unlimited account the same team operates UseNetNow. Which kindly offers NGR visitors unlimited Usenet access with 1,150 days of binary retention, free SSL encryption, 50 connections and US / EU news servers for just $10.39 a month. You can read our UseNetNow review to learn more about the service or visit DSLR and see how much their members appreciate their efforts.

UseNetNow and Blocknews fans will be happy to hear that the team behind both providers is testing a new VPN service. According to their DSL Reports post, VPN access is deployed in the United States and ready for beta testing. Those interested in joining the VPN beta should visit DSLR and send Swintec a private message.

UseNetNow / Blocknews are the first Usenet providers outside of Giganews to offer Personal VPN access. Interesting given the price difference of the service. With Giganews Diamond accounts costing $34.99 a month and UseNetNow costing $12 a month ($10.39 a month for NGR visitors). Not to say that the VPN service will be offered for free. We’ll let you know once pricing details are released.

If history repeats itself we’ll likely see more Usenet providers offering VPN access. Looking back to last year NewsDemon, NewsgroupDirect and Ngroups added online storage. A feature Giganews is currently developing. While Giganews released their Mimo Usenet client last year followed by Newshosting’s newsreader + Usenet search feature last month. Now it appears the latest value added feature will be VPN.

Might this put some pricing pressure on Giganews? As they raised the price of Diamond accounts from $29.99 to $34.99 earlier this year. We would imagine it’s getting more and more difficult for Giganews members to justify paying that much for the service. Especially given the quality and features offered elsewhere for 1/3 of the price. With UseNetServer, Newshosting, NewsDemon, Astraweb, Easynews and Ngroups offering unlimited Usenet with extras (newsreader, web access, online storage, etc.) for under $10 a month.

We are personally big fans and supporters of online privacy. Managing a site dedicated to personal VPN – vpnsp.com – and testing new VPN services every week. For us VPN isn’t a necessity for Usenet downloads. Yet it goes a long way for protecting yourself online. Especially when using public wi-fi connections. In addition to helping unblock content like Netflix, Hulu and social networking sites while abroad.

UseNetNow / Blocknews is currently testing the VPN service in the United States. With the possibility of adding additional access from Amsterdam. Swintec (who manages both services) explains on DSLR:

To be honest, I do not want to push Usenet to be used with the VPN together as it really is overkill. I think of the VPN as more of a value added service, which I think is far more useful than secure storage….not to mention no others have deployed it yet to match Giganews with their Usenet/VPN offering.

We’re likely to see more providers offering VPN access and other value added services in the not too distant future. As always we look forward to this time of the year. As the Usenet season starts to heat up we see new innovations. Much like the Newshosting client last month and now UseNetNow / Blocknews VPN.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about Usenet. Including hands-on reviews of leading newsgroup providers, guides, free trials and special offers. Follow us @NewsgroupRevs for the latest Usenet news.

Understanding Usenet block accounts is no easy task as newsgroup providers market them differently. Learn more about block plans and services that offer non-expiring, yearly and monthly blocks.

To us a block Usenet plan inherently includes a non-expiring block of gigs that you pay for once and use until it is gone. Then if you choose to do so you can buy another block. As you are about to see that isn’t always the case. Some plans defined as “block accounts” expire in a year or even monthly.

When researching and planning for this post we were tempted to just say “don’t buy Usenet block accounts that expire” but we realize that everyone has their own individual needs and an expiring account from provider’s like NewsDemon or Newshosting might be your preference. So our goal is simply to help you understand each provider’s meaning of a “block account”.

Let’s start with the meaning we think of for block Usenet access which is non-expiring blocks of downloads. We’ve also seen them called pay-per-download plans.

Here are a few Usenet services that offer non-expiring Usenet block accounts:

BlockNews.net offers Usenet blocks with no expiration date and free posting. The service boasts 610 days binary retention, 50 connections and free SSL encryption. Block plans include 200 GB for $25 and 25 GB for $8.50. Read our BlockNews review for more details.

Usenet-News

Usenet-News.net block accounts include no time limit and free posting. The service offers 550 days binary retention and free SSL. Usenet-News block account options include 200 GB for $27 and 30 GB for $10. Read our Usenet-News review for more details.

Next comes Usenet block accounts that expire annually. NewsDemon appears to be the only provider currently offering annual block plans.

NewsDemon offers yearly block accounts that automatically renew at the end of the year or when you hit the download limit based on the block purchased. Depending on your needs you might also consider their NGR special which includes 150 GB of downloads a month for $8.95.

NewsDemon

NewsDemon block plans have a one year time limit and autorenew when either the year ends of downloads are used up. The service offers 600 days binary retention and 50 connections with all block accounts. SSL encryption is available for $2 with any block. NewsDemon Usenet block accounts include 200 GB for $32.00 and 25 GB for $10.00. Read our NewsDemon review for more details.

Other Usenet providers including Newshosting and Red Dot News advertise block accounts that expire monthly. We would normally define these types of accounts as “metered Usenet plans” or “limited” accounts since they are limited to a specified number of GB each month. One difference in the Newshosting BigBlock is the unused gigs are rolled over to the next month which is a nice feature. Newshosting also offers a special on unlimited Usenet for $15.95. We would suggest paying the extra $1 a month for unlimited Usenet over the BigBlock option.

Let’s take a closer look at some block accounts that are billed monthly:

Newshosting

The Newshosting BigBlock account renews monthly The plan offers 600 days binary retention, 30 connections, free SSL encryption and rollover gigs. Meaning any gigs you don’t use one month are added to the next months downloads. The BigBlock account includes 125 GB for $14.95 a month. Read our Newshosting review for more details.

Red Orb News

Red Orb News block accounts renew monthly. They do not include a rollover option so you either use or lose the downloads each month. Red Orb News offers 600 days binary retention, 20 connections and free SSL encryption. Monthly block plans include 75 GB for $12.99 and 30 GB for $8.99. Read our Red Orb News review for more details.

In conclusion make sure to read the terms of any Usenet account. Whether it’s a free trial, unlimited access, metered or block account. Visit our Usenet block accounts page for a comprehensive list of block plans.

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